The New Mathways Project Curricular Materials

The path to higher education and upward mobility is no longer open to hundreds of thousands of students due to high failure rates in developmental and gateway mathematics courses. Far too many students are unsuccessful in these courses, and the course content does not build the mathematical skills needed for many jobs and for informed citizenship.

Overview

The New Mathways Project is a systemic approach to improving student success and completion rates through implementation of processes, strategies, and structures built around three accelerated mathematics pathways and a supporting student success course, connected to modern programs of study. Our work is based on four fundamental principles:

Acceleration that allows students to complete a college-level math course more quickly than in the traditional developmental math sequence.

Intentional use of strategies to help students develop skills as learners

Curriculum design and pedagogy based on proven practice

Pathways Structure

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The three mathematics pathways serve students who are placed into developmental math at the Beginning/Introduction to Algebra or Intermediate Algebra level or who have completed Basic Arithmetic. Each pathway leads to completion of a college-level, transferable math course.

The pathways are anchored in college-level transferable mathematics courses with outcomes compatible with those for courses listed in the Texas Academic Course Guide Manual, such as Introductory Statistics (MATH 1342) and Contemporary Mathematics (MATH 1332).

The pathways will include a Frameworks for Mathematics and Collegiate Learning course (EDUC 1300 or PYSC 1300) to be taken in conjunction with the student’s first math course in the pathway. The mathematics courses and the student success course will form an interconnected experience enabling students to succeed in mathematics and build the skills they need to complete a degree or certificate program in their chosen field of study.

The common starting point for all three mathematics pathways, the Foundations course builds the mathematical skills and understanding necessary for success in a quantitative literacy, statistics, or algebra course.

“We view NMP as a game-changer with the potential to dramatically improve student success in college and in the workforce.”

Taught as a co-requisite to the Foundations course, Frameworks teaches concepts from the learning sciences to help developmental math students acquire the strategies and tenacity necessary to succeed in mathematics, in other college coursework, and in their future careers and lives as citizens.

The college-level course in the Quantitative Literacy pathway serves students focused on developing quantitative literacy skills that will be meaningful for their professional, civic, and personal lives.